Chapter 4: Map Elements and Design Principles

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This work by the National Information Security and Geospatial Technologies Consortium (NISGTC), and except where otherwise noted, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Authoring Organization: Del Mar College

Written by: Richard Smith

Copyright: © National Information Security, Geospatial Technologies Consortium (NISGTC)

Development was funded by the Department of Labor (DOL) Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grant No. TC-22525-11-60-A-48; The National Information Security, Geospatial Technologies Consortium (NISGTC) is an entity of Collin College of Texas, Bellevue College of Washington, Bunker Hill Community College of Massachusetts, Del Mar College of Texas, Moraine Valley Community College of Illinois, Rio Salado College of Arizona, and Salt Lake Community College of Utah.

This workforce solution was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The solution was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites, and including, but not limited to accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability or ownership.

INTRODUCTION

In this lesson the content will focus on map elements and design principles. The cartographic process will be covered which explains why one would want to create a map and for what purpose. In this process the lesson will identify and explain elements that should be considered and added when creating a quality map. Planar and Hierarchical organization are outlined and to aid in understanding how to organize a map. The lesson concludes with an example map critique which highlights issues and identifies solutions to make the map sound.

 

Learning Outcomes

  • Identify map elements and design principles.
  • Employ appropriate map elements and design principles for different types of maps and audiences.

 

LEARNING SEQUENCE

Required Reading

Read the following:

  • Online Lesson Material

Resources

Review the following:

  • None

Assignments

Complete the following:

  • Quiz: Map Elements and Design Principles
  • Lab: Layouts and Figure-to-Ground Relationships

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Geographic Information Technologies Copyright © 2020 by R. Adam Dastrup, MA, GISP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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